Culture shock!!

I never really understood the word"Culture shock" before. But now that I have moved to Middle East, have got to know the exact meaning of the word. Now to give a glimpse into why I am saying its a culture shock.. Freedom of expression, I tend to think thats one word which people here dont know the meaning of. I have totally forgotten to smile at other human beings.This is because when a female smiles at anybody she is thought to be morally backward here.. So I follow,"Be a Roman in Rome".. Hence the above sentence..

Writing

I have always had a penchant towards writing, writing just for the sake of writing, not just for anybody to approve or appreciate. Writing is a catharsis at many a time when just expressing makes me feel a whole lot better and presents me with a better perspective of things. Writing is a passion although I have not been doing it a lot lately. When I read about things that are interesting and that spike my interest, I like to do bring it in my writing. Sometimes, things are better put in writing that merely voicing it out, that way, there is a sort of permanency to whatever we need to express.

As William Wordsworth says,"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart", feelings locked in our hearts get an expression when there is something written on them.

Addiction 2-Alcohol

I thought I would discuss about Alcohol addiction next because I have seen how Alcohol addiction ruins the lives of people. Let me first start with the definition. Alcohol addiction is a compulsive need for ingesting Beer, Wine and other hard liquors. This is present when a person craves alcohol and cannot limit his/her drinking. When I was little, I saw a neighbour who lost his life because of this addiction. He had a little daughter who at that early age of 6 understood the devastating effect the addiction had on her dad. Socially he became unacceptable in the community and it was very painful for his immediate family as well as his friends. When he died of Liver Cirrhosis, I had heard of that term only then. As years progressed, I have seen various effects of addiction on families. Then I decided I 'd do some research on the topic just to familiarise myself with the concept and why those addicted are addicted.. So here I am. The following is something I read,
"

Scientists say that someone who has alcoholic addiction in his/her family is more likely to develop alcoholism if they choose to drink. Alcoholism can also develop or worsen based on a person’s environment and traumatic experiences in life. These factors may include culture, family, friends, peer pressures, and the way the person lives.

Alcoholism can lead people into serious trouble, and can be physically and mentally destructive. Currently alcohol use is involved in half of all crimes, murders, accidental deaths, and suicides. There are also many health problems associated with alcohol use such as brain damage, cancer, heart disease, and diseases of the liver. Alcoholics who do not stop drinking reduce life expectancy by 10 to 15 years.

• Too much alcohol can destroy brain cells, possibly leading to brain damage.
• Alcohol greatly disturbs the structure and function of the central nervous system, hindering the ability to retrieve, consolidate, and process information.
• Moderate consumption of alcohol can affect cognitive abilities while large amounts interfere with the oxygen supply of the brain causing a blackout when totally drunk.
• Alcohol addiction may also inflame the mouth, esophagus, and stomach, and could cause cancer in these areas, especially in drinkers who also smoke.
• Splurge drinking may produce irregular heartbeats, and abusers experience a higher risk of high-blood pressure, heart attacks, and other heart damage.
• Alcohol also can harm vision, damage sexual function, slow circulation, be the grounds for malnutrition, and water retention.
• It can also lead to skin and pancreatic disorders, weaken the bones and muscles, thus, decreasing immunity

A large portion of alcohol taken in is broken down in the liver. It is important to note that the liver has a fixed rate of breaking down the alcohol, so as the liver is overused, disorders and malfunctions can result, making the liver the primary location of alcohol’s damage. Liver damage can occur in three stages. The first stage is liver enlargement whereby liver cells are penetrated with abnormal fatty tissue. The second stage is the alcoholic hepatitis whereby liver cells swell, inflame, and eventually die. The third stage is cirrhosis in which fibrous scar tissues are formed, hindering the flow of blood through the liver."

They also say that there are two kinds of people who have this addiction.

1. The first group is completely in denial of the fact that they are addicted to alcohol and are firmly convinced that they are totally in control of their drinking. Sadly, it is unlikely that those who are in this group are ever likely to recover on their own.
2. The second group is able to either see for themselves that they are becoming or are already addicted to alcohol, or they open to finally being convinced by their friends and family that they need help. They can then go to an support group which is dedicated to helping such people to conquer their addiction. Those in this segment have every chance of recovery.

I am sharing this in my blog just to tell everyone how alcoholism affects you and eventually leads to loss of life and hence abstain from alcohol as far as possible.

Addictions: 1 -To Internet

I just thought I could discuss about something which has an impact on other lives, the first one is addiction and I just found it amusing when I read this recently..So I am sharing this with you.

Are you addicted to your online connection? Are you one of those crazy folks that can’t wait to read the email with your morning coffee? Doctors are calling it serious addiction combined with: Cybersexual Addiction, Computer Addiction and Cyber-Relational Addiction. They even managed to stamp the cool names for it, like Internet Addictive Disorder (IAD) or the Internet Overuse Syndrome (IOS). Based on the latest research and simple human reasoning. Internet addiction should not be labeled as addiction like gambling or drug addiction. There should be a strict line that distances other addictions from the “internet addiction”. Staying in touch with your friends or watching funny YouTube videos is not a destructive behavior which usually characterizes major addictions. If you gamble on the internet then you are not addicted to the internet, but online gambling. Internet is a wonderful tool, but like everything else in this Universe there is the sunny side and the dark side of the pyramid of life. Stay Positive!

Lets do some learning!!

Stewardesses is the longest word
typed with only the left hand ..

And ' lollipop ' is the longest word typed
with your right hand .

(Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?)


No word in the English language rhymes with
month , orange , silver , or purple .


' Dreamt ' is the only English word that ends in the letters ' mt '.
( Are you doubting this ?)


our eyes are always the same size from birth,
but our nose and ears
never stop growing.

The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog'
uses every letter of the alphabet.
( Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right ?)


The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right
or right to left (palindromes).
(Yep, I knew you were going to 'do' this one.)



There are only four words in the English language which end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

( You're not possibly doubting this, are you ?)

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.'
( Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u )

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard..
( All you typists are going to test this out )


A cat has 32 muscles in each ear .

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds .

( Some days that's about what my memory span is.)


A ' jiffy ' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second .

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.
( I know some people that could do this too .!)



Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

( I know some people like that also . Actually I know A LOT of people like this !)

Babies are born without kneecaps.

They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast,
the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.


Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.


The cruise liner, QE 2,
moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
( Good thing he did that .)

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls
froze completely solid .

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill
was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men..

Something interesting!

Masculine and Feminine Sides of the Body

If we look in the mirror and view our profile from each side, we may notice that the two sides of our face are slightly different from one another. Additionally, our left hand is similar to but different from our right hand. In fact, these subtle differences pervade both sides of our entire body. Considering these differences in the context of the idea that the right side of our body is masculine and the left side feminine may shed some light on how balanced we are in relation to our masculine and feminine qualities.

Intuition, feelings, openness, and unselfishness govern the feminine side of our natures. The masculine side is characterized by logic, facts, systems, and self-interest. If you are giving too much to others to the detriment of yourself, your feminine side may be overactive and your right side may need strengthening, to speak up on your behalf, protecting and conserving your energy. If your life is too rigidly structured, your masculine aspect may be overactive; developing your feminine aspect will bring a more open-ended and creative approach.

Maintaining harmony between the left side and the right side, the feminine and masculine, is a key to wholeness.This is the concept of Ardhanareeshwara explained scientifically

Cute message

Just saw this message from my ex-colleague in my inbox..

what a Cute Message

--------------------------

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school.

As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming word, would cut through the sky.

Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little
girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother's car drove up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?" The child answered , " I am trying to look pretty, God keeps taking my picture "

"Face the storms that come your way and don't forget to SMILE!"

some thoughts

Its been almost a month since I wrote anything at all here..I was simply too busy for words.. We did our darling daughter's mottai at Pittsburgh. It was lots of fun staying with our dear friends Suneetha and Srini. We had absolute fun with them and their sweet little son, Siddharth.. Manasa and Sidhu became so close that even after we have come back, she keeps talking about Sidhu in her sleep..the other day I caught her saying,'Bye Sidhu Bye" in her sleep.. wow, we dont realise how changes affect our little ones, but they do get affected.. And then we met my brother and his wife after nearly a year and it was good seeing them.. I had missed my brothers so much and I was so glad to see atleast one of them.

We have had so much fun when we were younger.. One of them is actually my cousin, but I have always considered him my own elder brother and one of them my own younger brother..Both of them are very sweet in their own way and I love them both. I remember the times when we all got together as children and my cousin brother had a dog called Lizzie..She was a Golden Labrador. very nice dog. We were very young then and were really frightened of dogs, so when we visited my elder brother, he used to chase us around the house with Lizzie and she would oblige whatever he wants done..So mostly I and my younger bro were standing on top of the dining table..But then we slowly got used to lizzie and then we had fun and loads of it..

This is just one memory, we have had lots of fun together, have cried together when our grandfather and more recently mama passed away, have shared our misgivings and adventures of childhood as well as adolescence as well as later years.. We used to simply talk and be at ease with each other. Now we are all in different places and we dont have the chance to meet or stay with each other for longer duration. Even if we meet we dont get to talk that much and I miss all that..

I wish to say this to my brothers, Dear brothers, Whatever happens and wherever you both are, you are my brothers and you will always remain close to my heart, distances and times cant change any true feelings among Brothers and Sister, Can they?? It definitely cant..

From a loving sister..

I read these in pawprints archives and was so impressed and wanted to share with everybody. So here they are:

45 Rules for Life

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you", mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slow but think quick.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask,"Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Call your mom.
16. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
17. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
18. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
19. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
20. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Marry a man you love to talk to. As you get older, his conversational skills will be as important as any other.
23. Spend some time alone.
24. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
26. Read more books and watch less TV.
27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
28. Trust in God but lock your car.
29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

31. Read between the lines.
32. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
33. Be gentle with the earth.
34. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
36. Mind your own business.
37. Don't trust a man who doesn't close his eyes when you kiss him.
38. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.

41. Learn the rules, then break some.
42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon

Cool rules for life, huh?

Interesting!

Shortly before he left the White House, Theodore Roosevelt, planning a big-game hunting trip to Africa, heard that a famous white hunter was visiting Washington. He invited the man to come along and give him some advice. After a two-hour tête-à-tête the hunter came out of the president's office looking dazed. "What did you tell the president?" someone asked idly. "My name," said the bemused visitor. "After that he did all the talking."

Ha ha ha

Factoids!!

Here is something interesting that I read and thought would share with everybody..

Factoids about Salt:

• The word "salary" comes from solarium, the pay Roman soldiers received for the purchase of salt.
• Salt is the only edible rock.
• In Iran, to break an oath is to be "untrue to salt."
• Many American roadways began as paths blazed by buffalo traveling to natural salt licks.
• During the Middle Ages the size of the salt cellar indicated the wealth of a household.
• A salt tax called the gabelle led to the French Revolution.
• In small amounts, salt makes sweet foods taste sweeter.

Info Source: the above factoids were found on the packaging for Alton Brown's salt cellar.

More on salt...

• In ancient Greece, slaves were traded for salt — hence the expression 'not worth his salt'.
• It is customary in some cultures to bring gifts of salt, bread, and wine when invited to a wedding or house warming. Salt to remind them their lives may be difficult at times; bread so that they will never be hungry or in need; wine so that they will never thirst but have a life of good health, good cheer and good friends.

Have a good laugh!

Here's something which I read the other day.Quite funny.

Mark Twain loved to brag about his hunting and fishing exploits. He once spent three weeks fishing in the Maine woods, regardless of the fact that it was the state's closed season for fishing. Relaxing in the lounge car of the train on his return journey to New York, his catch iced down in the baggage car, he looked for someone to whom he could relate the story of his successful holiday.

The stranger to whom he began to boast of his sizable catch appeared at first unresponsive, then positively grim. "By the way, who are you, sir?" inquired Twain airily. "I'm the state game warden," was the unwelcome response. "Who are you?" Twain nearly swallowed his cigar. "Well, to be perfectly truthful, warden," he said hastily, "I'm the biggest damn liar in the whole United States."

Ha ha ha

An anecdote

I read this some time back. A good example of "What goes around comes around".

One good turn deserves another...

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of."

And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Thats amazing, isnt it?

The Secret

We recently saw the movie "The Secret" Its so good. Its a totally positive movie about how there is a secret in the world that not many people realise. The movie talks about ,"the law of attraction". When a person expresses positive thoughts, it gives a positive vibration which pulls all the good things that are about to happen in the world towards the person. The thoughts sort of act like a magnet and all the things, good and nice fall into place like pieces of a puzzle..This can be applied even to smaller tasks in every day life. Nothing is impossible when we apply this law. They explain beautifully that as a child, we always are positive and as life progresses, we start to go into lot of negativity. That negativity harms a lot than we realize. A small example is we start going out thinking we should not miss the flight. Our thoughts send out vibrations and what we think really happens, that is to start with, the door lock doesnt lock properly, or we have forgotten something that we have to go back for it or the traffic is so bad that we get inevitably delayed for the flight. On the other hand, when our thoughts synchronize with the mind and we think thus," I should reach early for the flight", then all the things around us work towards that goal.And we reach early.

I actually tested this yesterday when I went to the gym. I never get parking which is closer to the gym. So I always resign myself to the fact and park almost near the exit of the parking area. But this time I told myself that I am going to find a parking spot in the first two rows.. Well, when I went, I was totally taken aback to find a parking spot there..One person just took his car out and a car which was before me missed this and so went past and I got the spot instead..Immediately i called my husband and shared with him the news..He was equally taken aback..

But when we sat and thought about it a little later, we realized that all the things that we want so much and positively think about are the stuff that we attain, be it a small pen or a big dream vacation or a house.

So Thoughts surely maketh a man!!

This is something which i read sometime back.

"There is so much in life I can’t control. But this is my life and I’ve decided to be happy. I can choose to be happy regardless of my other circumstances. It’s not "when I get a promotion, I’ll be happy....." or "when I can speak in front of a small group of people, I’ll be happy....." The focus should be on learning to be happy now. Tap into your inner peace and contentment in the way that works best for you."

When you notice self-limiting and self-defeating thoughts playing over and over in your mind, say "STOP! I will not give you any more power over me! I have better things to do!!"

Profound, Isnt it?

Here;s the link for the movie site.

http://www.thesecret.tv/

Last weekend we had a going away party for our friends..We had to organize the party for about 53 families..It was an eye opener for me because I have never done something like this on a large scale..Ofcourse, have helped organize the sales conference when our Madurai branch of THE HINDU hosted it in kodai. But our whole branch helped then. And yeah, have acted as MC for couple of programs while in University, but this was after so many years and that too with so many people involved who I dont know that well. So it was a challenge and yes, I bugged each and everyone, bombarded them with emails and updates..surely all of them were/are a patient lot. I was flabbergasted when they all came up with thanks and congrats after the party..Surely, they didnt realize what an important part they all played!!

The surprise worked out like this..Had told Gayatri-Sastry family that there's going to be a religious ceremony at the temple basement and had asked one of our elderly mamis to request them for a ride, so that we will know where they are at every point in time.. We had switched off the lights and were very quiet and when they came in shouted "Surprise" We had to do it twice as Gayatri came separately first and Sastry came later..But the look in their faces was priceless!! The look was a total disbelief and slowly a dawning of the truth and happiness on seeing the number of people gathered there for them. Have some of the pictures above which demonstrate that.

We welcomed them, had a dance program by our very own Michael Jacksons' , Sooraj and Anand.. Boy, they were fantastic..Then we had a sumptuous feast prepared by every family. How can I ever thank them for taking this so serious and preparing excellent and variety food..It was surely a feast fit for a prince complete with 2 mouthwatering sweets.. The menu was as follows.. Pulao, Puris, Channa, Coconut sevai, Morkulambu as the main course and Bhel puri, Paruppu vadai, bonda, sandwiches, wraps (all made with perfection) and ofcourse date sweet and a burfi , all complete with a curd rice..Isnt this great!!

This was followed by a sumptuous feast to the ears by Shruthilayam..the girls and boys of Shruthilayam were wonderful in their rendering of songs and they even invited Sastry to join them..It was wholesome entertainment..

This was followed by the vote of thanks by me. Although words cannot express how wonderful people were when they rendered their help, I managed to put some into words and by then, somebody came from outside and said that there was a blizzard outside..So we cancelled the rest of the program, games and cleaned up the place getting set to go.. All in all, it was a fabulous program made memorable by the numerous acts of help which everyone gave..Group Effort was fabulous..

A great surprise indeed!!Here are the links for the song and video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfq3zOG1D8I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QwjsZYbTug

Joys and Sorrows..

This is a story which I read the other day..

I have in my hands two boxes Which God gave me to hold He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black, And all your joys in the gold." I heeded his words, and in the two boxes Both my joys and sorrows I store But though the gold became heavier each day The black was as light as before. With curiosity, I opened the black I wanted to find out why And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole Which my sorrows had fallen out by. I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud, "I wonder where my sorrows could be." He smiled a gentle smile at me. "My child, they're all here with me." I asked, "God, why give me the boxes, "Why the gold, and the black with the hole?" "My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, the black is for you to let go."

---

What a nice way to say,"Count your blessings..let go your sorrows" Inspiring!!

Family day

Today is family day.Every Third Monday of February is celebrated as Family day in Alberta. This started from the year 1990 in order to celebrate the values of family..I once read something, a funny yet true quote about family.It goes like this,"Families are like fudge-sweet with a few nuts".

Today I wish to dedicate the following poem to my parents.

For the very special parents
As the years go by, I realize more and more
How lucky I am to be part of a wonderful family like ours
And I know that, from the very beginning
You both have worked to make it that way.
Both of you have always shown such caring and affection
You made home such a warm and happy place to be
I'm grateful for that..
And grateful for the countless
other little things and Big things too
you've done to make our family special..

I love you both.

Today I had our favorite mamas, mamis, their daughter and grandsons over at our house for lunch.. Had a wonderful time with them..Family day was sure wonderful. Above are a few pictures of the same..

Arent they wonderful!!

Positive thoughts and power of words!

Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

This is one of my favorite quotes. Positive thinking always helps in life for it anticipates joy and happiness in every walk of our life. I have always been fascinated by puranas where the rishis lead a life of purity and exhibit such great concentrations and have the power to attain something just by saying that. I have wondered about the power of words that we utter in everyday life. I read the book,"Autobiography of a Yogi" longtime back. But I keep reading it again and again. In this, Paramahansa Yogananda has stressed on the power of words.

When Yogananda was small, he and his sister Uma were seated and she complained of a boil in her arm and fetched an ointment.Yogananda also applied the ointment on his forearm.When his sister asked him why he did so, he replied saying that he was going to get a boil in the same spot and was testing the ointment there. His sister accused him of lying. So he got indignant and said,"By the power of will in me, I say that tomorrow I shall have a fairly large boil in this exact same place on my arm and your boil will swell to twice its size" And the next morning found him with a boil in his arm and his sister's boil had doubled. His sister was rather frightened and ran to his mother who gravely instructed him never to use the power of words for doing harm.

The power of words is explained further in the book as follows,"The infinite potencies of sound derive from the Creative word, AUM,the cosmic vibratory power behind all atomic energies.Any word spoken with clear realization and deep concentration has a materializing value.Loud or silent repetition of inspiring words have been found effective in various systems of psychotherapy;the secret lies in the stepping up of the mind's vibrations"

I have also found that when you pray deeply or meditate and then utter something important, it always works. I think that is the reason we have all these mantras and prayers in Hinduism as also in various other religions. Mantras create a divine vibration and a positive force and when uttered with concentration make things work in our favor. A mantra is said to be even more effective when chanted in your mind.

Hence, seeing the power of words, well, I feel we would be doing ourselves and others a favor if we speak only good things.Dont you?

Nice message!!

One of my former colleagues sent this mail to me and I thought its worth sharing with everyone.

Health:

Drink plenty of water.

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.

Play more games.

Read more books than you did in 2008.

Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

Sleep for 7 hours.

Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

Don't over do. Keep your limits.

Don't take yourself so seriously.. No one else does.

Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

Dream more while you are awake.

Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your resent happiness.

Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

Smile and laugh more.

You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree

Society:

-->Call your family often.

Each day give something good to others.

Forgive everyone for everything.

Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

Try to make at least three people smile each day..

What other people think of you is none of your business.

Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.

Stay in touch.

Life:

Do the right thing!

Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

GOD heals everything.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

The best is yet to come.

When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy

I read out this to my husband and he was also extremely impressed and wants to read this every day..So I have kept this ready on my desktop..U can do that too!!

Collective nouns- an interesting concept!!

I was just browsing through my home page on facebook and one of my friends had posted the question,"a flock of geese, a herd of cows, a of journalists" ? I started googling and came across the site http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm#People

Its interesting to read so many collective nouns..By the way, the answer is "A passel of journalists" !! There are other interesting coll. nouns like "A rope of onions, A phantasmagoria of phantoms, A troop of mushrooms, A goring of butchers, A curse of painters, A gaggle of women, A quiver of cobras, a nest of vipers, A rhumba of rattlesnakes, An intrusion of cockroaches(well, can there be any place devoid of roaches, so thought of giving them access to my blog too!!), A sloth of Bears, A mob of kangaroos, a leap of leopards, A convocation of eagles and a cast of falcons.." Wow, thats quite a list and there are lots more in this website..Quite a collective of coll.nouns!!

A sufi poem

This is a beautiful poem by a Sufi saint..

Prayer for Peace - Pir Inayat Khan

Send Thy peace, O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting,
That our souls may radiate peace.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that we may think, act and speak,
Harmoniously.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that we may be contented and
Thankful for Thy bountiful gifts.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that amidst our worldly strife we
may enjoy Thy bliss.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, that we may endure all, tolerate all
In the thought of Thy grace and mercy.
Send Thy peace, O lord, that our lives may become a divine
vision, and in Thy light all darkness may vanish.
Send Thy peace, O Lord, our Father and Mother, that we
Thy children on earth may all unite in one family.

We need this in this age of chaos..

A letter to All people who involve in strikes and protests at the slightest opportunity!!

In India, I have seen public sector employees involving in strike at the slightest opportunity. This affects lot of people because as such bureaucracy is difficult to handle..So in addition, when they involve in strikes, files move rather slowly and this puts the common man in lots of distress..There was one interesting poem I read long back which goes as follows..

If God Went On Strike

Its just a Good Thing that "God" above
has never gone on a strike.
Because he wasn't treated fair or He didnt like.
If He had ever once sat down and said
"Thats it- I'm through!
I've had enough of those on earth
So this is what I do"

"I'll give my orders to the Sun
'Cut off your heat supply to man'
and to the moon 'Give no more light'
and run the Ocean dry
Then just to make it really tough
and to put the pressure on
I even turn off the air and oxygen
Till every breath is gone".

Men say they want a better deal
and so, on strike, they go
But what a deed we've given to God
when HE gives us everything
We dont care whom we've hurt or harmed
to gain the ship we like
But what mess we'd all be in
If God went on strike


Cool poem, right?

People and tendencies

Every person tends to act in a different way towards another person. Some people are good listeners whereas others are good talkers.. Listeners gain a lot , while people who talk a lot generally dont hold much.. The proverb,"Empty vessels make much noise" is true in many cases. Sometimes we find people going on and on about something without having the slightest clue of what the topic is about.. Thats really pathetic. I feel that when people dont actually listen to another person, they generally do not understand the motives of the other person thereby misleading themselves and sometimes accusing the other person.. I generally dont like people who do a lot of backbiting. I consider it the most intense sort of garbage that they involve themselves in.. You tend to be wary with that particular person because you never know when they are going to do the same thing to you.

I am a moderate person who doesnt involve in a lot of talking and I do think a lot before i speak. I analyse whether my actions really affect another person or hurt them and if I find it to be so, I definitely take remedial steps, I generally think before I speak.. So many may think that I am an introvert, but what I am is a measured talker.. Some people shoot out of the mouth and dont give a damn about what other person's feelings are, they give scant regard to that. I am sometimes hurt by that..Call me sensitive, but I feel people ought to be a bit sensitive about feelings. Or what do u say??

Poetry that I love most!!

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This is the best poem I have ever come across.. Although it was written a century ago, it remains everfresh, evergreen even now.. Robert Frost is surely a genius, such wisdom which surpasses ages and the flowing lines..Happy Sankranthi and Pongal!!

Ice Roads

It was a really cold spell in Calgary this December.. We had almost 2 weeks of continuous cold spell with temperatures ranging in the minus thirties.. I was thinking thats cold when I happened to come across a website in which they describe about Ice roads..Ice Roads are constructed to connect the Far Northern regions of Canada with the civilization..Temperatures here range in minus 40 to 60 Farenheit..My goodness, Can anybody survive here.. was my first thought..It literally freezes your arse off.. The speed limit on these Roads are below 20 kms.. It is fascinating to read about these Man made marvels.. But these Ice Roads exist only during 4 months of peak winter..So the supplies for the whole year for the remote mines are transported by trucks through these Ice Roads..Have a look at these pictures in this particular webpage..http://www.thedieselgypsy.com/Ice%20Roads-3B-Denison.htm

One should definitely see this webpage..It amazes me how the truckers put their life in line while transporting the goods..

See ya later,

Vaikunta Ekadasi

Vaikunta Ekadasi.. What does this mean? It is an important festival dedicated to Lord Vishnu and celebrated predominantly in South India. It is celebrated with pomp and grandeur at Tirupathi, Srirangam and the various Vishnu Temples. The story behind this is that Lord Vishnu took the form of a female energy "Ekadasi" to kill demon Muran. Impressed by her, He said that whoever worships Him this day will reach Heaven. So in every temple, the door called "Vaikunta Dwara" opens and people pass through it the early hours of the morning with prayers to the Lord. Some people fast the whole day and then eat early the next day morning.. Nellikai(Gooseberry) Kichadi is an important part of the menu on Dvadasi(next day). Generally people make food without tamarind.

I did fast the whole day on Ekadasi this time, I started with eating just once the previous day and fasting the whole day on ekadasi and then completed the fasting on Dvadasi day by taking Tulasi Theertham.(water) Surprisingly, I didnt feel hungry the whole day..I assume the body gets used to it as the time passes. It was nice to read lots of slokas and Vishnu Sahasranamam. I decorated the Lord too and it was a memorable experience.

I also saw a youtube video and in that a person from Singapore had decorated the home deity with so much grandeur and love that it rivalled the temples.. Here's the link for that website..http://thiruman.com/. Its so nice to see such devoted souls.

It reminds me of the time I used to decorate and deck up Lord Krishna's idol at the hostel prayer hall. I miss doing that now.. I have been searching for an idol of Krishna which looks so lovely like that, but am unable to get that..I sure do hope that I am able to get that some day..

Signing off for now

Happy New Year

Wishing Everyone a very Happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful New Year.

New Year means new beginnings, new joys and new hopes..New year always begins with a tremendous promise and definitely usher in new moments.. This year, we had a relatively quite New Year sans all partying.. We ushered in by chanting some prayers and like every other year we started the day by wishing our folks back in India. Then wishes for all others followed..and it still goes on and on, Oh my, we sure do have lots of people whom we know..Come to think of it, we have been in so many places and sure do have lots of friends..We might have missed some, but surely not on purpose and so wishing everyone a very Happy New Year..